The past few years, MyCareer was primarily driven by a narrative that dictated the kinds of opportunities available to you. These stories achieved varying degrees of success, but the rigid structure sometimes felt at odds with the rest of the MyCareer experience. For NBA 2K18, Visual Concepts loosens up the structure to allow users to pursue whatever types of activities interest them most without being restricted by where the story is taking you. "It's definitely not like the progression of the Spike Lee story in NBA 2K16," says senior producer Ben Bishop. "That was a very set, linear story."
That's not to say NBA 2K18 abandons narrative altogether. During The Prelude demo coming September 8, you begin your journey to the NBA as DJ, a former blue chip baller whose hoops career stalled out as his interests turned toward music. But after his self-imposed sabbatical, he tries to jumpstart his basketball career by entering the Proving Ground, an amateur streetball event NBA scouts attend looking for diamonds in the rough. Perform well enough and you can earn a spot on a roster as an undrafted free agent.
Once you earn your way into the NBA, how your career unfolds is up to you. Want to skip the NBA games altogether in favor of ProAm and MyPark games? Go for it. Tired of dealing with your agent? Ignore endorsement opportunities until you are ready. The reworked phone system lets you check your messages or ignore them for a later date. This freeform approach means you never have to get punished for skipping team practice to hang out with another NBA pro.
Good news about the upgrade system and earning Badges, too:
For the past several years, 2K obfuscated how to obtain the badges for developing traits like corner shooting. Not anymore. NBA 2K18 lets you look at what you need to do to unlock or upgrade each of those badges at any time, and you contribute to that badge growth no matter if you are playing NBA games, MyPark games, or ProAm games. Best of all, 2K no longer groups standard attribute skills into buckets – as you progress you get to decide which skills to upgrade when like the good old days of NBA 2K13.